From Saintly Shrines to Cabinets of Curiosity – The Fate of Medieval Altarpieces in Post-Reformation Norway

Abstract

Summary This article follows the afterlife of two fragmented late medieval altarpieces in Norway, whose original function was for a long time obscured after years of private ownership. The study takes an object biography approach, where sections of documentary evidence are pieced together with technical findings and historical context to explore the altarpieces’ shifting functions during long, eventful lifespans. The Reformation and shift to Lutheran Protestantism did not pose any immediate threat to the Catholic objects, despite featuring non-biblical imagery. Instead, church renovation and subsequent transferals from ecclesiastic to profane locations became critical factors in decisions to alter their original appearances. The Fjell altarpiece was first transformed into a Lutheran altarpiece in the nineteenth century, before ending up as a piece of utilitarian furniture in a private house. Gløshaug was transposed from its life as an altarpiece in a modest village church to an object of art and curiosa in a rich art collection housed in an upper-class mansion in England. This article shows how serendipity not only plays a role in the re-emergence of repurposed medieval liturgical art but also in their conservation treatments. Pages from the objects’ chronologies stand unfilled, only to be revealed after treatment has begun and decisions cannot be reversed. From this, we might deduce that reaching the state of original appearance may not always be the best objective during a restoration, and that perhaps chance will never cease to play a role, regardless of how comprehensively we think we have documented an object’s life.